Some Organizing Tips

The pink boxes are from Ikea, the plastic ones are the OXO containers and then the colored planters are recycled from plants I bought at Trader Joes.  Oh and the other boxes are old gift boxes so get creative.

If you're putting rice, cream of wheat or other products in these containers, don't forget to cut out the directions!

This weekend I took the advice of professional organizer, Amy Suddleson who told me that getting organized is as easy as buying a label maker.  So I bought a label maker at Costco and put it to work!  It changed my life.  It's literally taken me years to figure out the perfect way to organize stickers, markers, stamps, paints, pencils, jewels...  Everything my little girls need to create the perfect masterpiece.  Problem is all those visits to Target, Lakeshore and Michaels leaves me with a tons of great stuff scattered everywhere.  I know, it's overwhelming enough being a parent sometimes so when you add another layer of keeping the house cleaned and well organized, that's another story.  Problem is, not having your life organized causes stress, hours wasted searching for things and money wasted because you can't find something.  So I finally committed to organizing my life.

Apart from talking to Amy Suddleson, I bought a few great books.  One Year To An Organized Life by Regina Leeds and The Life Organizer: A Woman's Guide to a Mindful Year by Jennifer Louden.  First, it's important to note that both of these books give you an entire year to organize your life.  So don't set yourself up for failure thinking you'll get it done in a weekend.  It takes time to de-clutter and let go of your memories, especially if you're someone like me who still has boxes of old letters from childhood up until the Valentine's day card my husband just gave me.  This week I want you to start thinking about spring cleaning.  Think about places you spend most of your time.  A few weeks ago I started with my kitchen.  My pantry was a mess so I bought a bunch of OXO containers and started labeling.  You can buy the OXO containers directly through the site or use your Bed, Bath and Beyond coupons.  Also, make sure you check out the Container Store, One Kings Lane and Gilt Home.  Sometimes they'll have some nice containers on sale too.

Happy organizing!